Procedural Rules Governing the Football Tribunal - January 2025 edition
The January 2025 edition of the Procedural Rules Governing the FIFA Football Tribunal, approved on 22 December 2024 and in force from 1 January 2025; it introduced into the procedural rules the parties' duty to cooperate in the production of evidence and the possibility of an "adverse inference".
| Approval | 22 December 2024 — Bureau of the FIFA Council |
| In force from | 1 January 2025 |
| Structure | 35 articles (including article 28bis) + one annexe |
| Status | Superseded — replaced by the January 2026 edition |
What are the Procedural Rules Governing the FIFA Football Tribunal?
The Football Tribunal is FIFA's body for adjudicating football disputes and is composed of three chambers: the Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC), the Players' Status Chamber (PSC) and the Agents Chamber (AC). These Procedural Rules determine the formal rules of proceedings before all three chambers, from the lodging of a claim to the notification of the decision.
About the January 2025 editionChanges from March 2023
This edition was approved on 22 December 2024 by the Bureau of the FIFA Council and, pursuant to article 34, entered into force on 1 January 2025. The structure of the document was retained with 35 articles and one annexe, and its amendments — unlike the far-reaching March 2023 edition — were focused and limited.
The principal change from the March 2023 edition: the evidentiary regime and the duty to cooperate
This edition added to the article on submissions and evidence provisions concerning the parties' duty to cooperate in the establishment of the facts, which had not previously appeared in the text:
- The parties "shall have a duty to cooperate in the establishment of the facts and shall respond in good faith to any request for the production of evidence made by the chamber, the FIFA general secretariat or the opposing party".
- A party requesting the production of evidence must show that the evidence sought is likely to exist and relevant to the matter — a qualification that precludes exploratory and wide-ranging requests.
- The principal sanction: "an adverse inference may be drawn from a party's response to a request for the production of evidence" — that is, a refusal to produce a document may be construed against that same party.
This addition brought an institution well established in international arbitration into the procedural rules of the Football Tribunal and made the practical burden of proof heavier for the party in possession of the documents.
Structure of the document
The document comprises 35 articles and one annexe in six chapters: general provisions; general procedural rules; specific rules for claims before the three chambers; specific rules on the solidarity mechanism, training rewards and the Electronic Player Passport (including article 28bis); supervisory applications before the Players' Status Chamber; and final provisions.
Who this document matters to
For clubs and players that have been parties to proceedings before the Football Tribunal in cases during 2025, the "adverse inference" rule carries strategic significance: withholding documents in a party's possession — such as a contract, correspondence or payment records — is no longer without cost and may form the basis of an inference against that party. Conversely, a party requesting the production of evidence must also substantiate the relevance and likely existence of that document.